1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a connector to which is connected a terminal of a flexible wiring member, such as a flexible flat cable (FFC) in which a plurality of conductors are arranged parallel to each other in the longitudinal direction and a flexible printed circuit (FPC) having a circuit printed on a flexible base material.
2. Related Art
Conventionally, as a means for connecting a terminal of a flexible wiring member to, for example, a circuit board, one is known in which a connector to which the terminal is connectable is mounted on a substrate. In such a connector, in view of the fact that the flexible wiring member which is connected is liable to deflect and the insertion is difficult, an arrangement is provided such that the terminal of the flexible wiring member is made insertable in a housing in a state in which the resistance is practically nil, and after the insertion a slider is pushed into the housing in a direction parallel to the inserting direction of the flexible wiring member, thereby restraining the flexible wiring member at a connecting position.
However, with the connector in which the slider is thus pushed in in a direction parallel to the inserting direction of the flexible wiring member, there is a drawback in that the slider which is pulled out toward this side constitutes a hindrance, so that the insertion of the flexible wiring member into the housing is difficult. Accordingly, as a means for overcoming such a drawback, the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei8-83631 discloses a connector in which when the slider is pulled out, the overall slider is arranged to tilt in a direction in which a terminal on this side of the slider is oriented diagonally upward, thereby widening the insertion gap for the flexible wiring member by the tilting of the slider at this pulled-out position.
[Problems to be Solved]
With the connector of the above-described publication, since the motion of rotating the slider is involved at the beginning of the pushing in or before completion of the pulling out of the slider, there is a drawback in that the operation of the slider becomes complicated. Particularly with the connector in which the flexible wiring member is inserted in a state in which the flexible wiring member is mounted on a substrate, there are many cases where the connecting operation in a narrow space is required, so that it is desirable to simplify the slider operation as much as possible.
It should be noted that although the Unexamined Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. Hei5-69880 concerning a microfilm discloses a substrate-mounted connector in which a slider is pulled out from a housing diagonally upward in a straight manner (i.e., the slider is pushed into the housing diagonally downward), this connector is aimed at avoiding interference between the slider which is pulled out of the housing and an electronic part mounted on this side of the connector. Since the arrangement provided is such that a terminal of the flexible wiring member is inserted into the housing over the slider which is pulled out diagonally upward, the insertion operation is even more difficult, and it is very difficult to visually confirm the inserted state.
In addition, with the connector disclosed in the Unexamined Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. Hei5-69880 concerning a microfilm, the slider is arranged to slide in a diagonal direction over its entire stroke, and since it does not provide the operation of pushing in the slider in a direction parallel to the inserting direction of the flexible wiring member, it is difficult to reliably hold the flexible wiring member at a position of contact with connector terminals. Furthermore, in a case where the slider is retained at its insertion-completed position in such a manner as to be incapable of moving backward, if there is any slight deviation in its retaining position, the force for restraining the flexible wiring member by the slider at that retaining position varies, so that there is a drawback in that the connection reliability declines by that margin.
An example of such a connector is shown in FIG. 16 and FIGS. 19A to 19C. A multiplicity terminal accommodating chambers 182 arranged in a lateral direction are formed in an illustrated housing 180, and terminals 184 are respectively accommodated in the terminal accommodating chambers 182. A vertically deflectable deflecting piece 183 for connection is formed at a tip of each of the terminals 184.
To effect connection by using this connector C1 for a circuit board, the housing 180 is first fixed to a circuit board side by a pair of holders 186, and leg portions 185 of the terminals 182 are connected to lands on an unillustrated board by means of soldering or the like. Meanwhile, in a flexible wiring member 140, its terminal is processed to expose terminals of respective conductors 141 on the upper side, and a reinforcing plate 142 for restraining the deflection of the terminal of the flexible wiring member 140 is bonded in advance to a reverse surface of the terminal. Then, after the terminal of the flexible wiring member 140 is inserted into the housing 180 in a loosely fitted state, as shown in FIGS. 19A and 19B, a slider 190 having a tongue 192 is inserted from the inserting side. Upon completion of the insertion of the slider 190 (FIG. 19C), the tongue 192 pushes up the terminals of the conductors 141 of the flexible wiring member 140, thereby allowing the terminals of the conductors 141 to be brought into contact with the deflecting pieces 183 of the terminals 182. Through this contact, the flexible wiring member 140 is set in a state of being connected to a circuit on the circuit board side by means of the terminals 182.
With the above-described connector C1, it is difficult to confirm to what extent the terminal of the flexible wiring member 140 has been inserted in the housing 180. Accordingly, due to the fact that the slider 190 is pushed in in a state in which the flexible wiring member 140 is in a semi-inserted state, there is a possibility of the occurrence of faulty connection. In addition, even if the connecting operation is conducted satisfactorily, since the restraint of the flexible wiring member 140 is effected only by the clamping by the tongue 192 and the deflecting pieces 183, if the flexible wiring member 140 is, for example, pulled with a relatively strong force, the position of the terminal in the housing can be offset, possibly causing faulty connection.
To hold down nearly the entire region extending in the direction of width of the flat wiring member 240, the slider 290 is shaped in such a manner as to extend in the direction of the member 240. Moreover, both terminals in the direction of width of the flat wiring member 240 are restrained to the housing 280, while a middle portion in the direction of width thereof freely operates at least in the direction in which the slider 290 is pushed into the housing 280. Therefore, as the width of the flat wiring member 240 is increased by multipolarization thereof, the width dimension of the slider 290 increases. Thus, the middle portion in the direction of width of the slider 290 becomes more flexible (that is, becomes more liable to perform displacement) in the direction in which the slider 290 is inserted (that is, in a direction nearly parallel to the direction in which the flat wiring member 240 is inserted). When such displacement occurs, the middle portion in the direction of width thereof cannot reliably restrain the flat wiring member 240 at a normal connection position (that is, the position at which the member 240 touches the terminal 284). There is a fear that contact failure occurs at worst.
In view of the above-described circumstances, an object of the invention is to provide a connector which facilitates the operation of connection between the flexible wiring member inserted in the housing and the terminals, and makes it possible to reliably and stably maintain the connection.
[Means for Solving the Problems]
As a means for attaining the above object, in accordance with the invention, there is provided a connector to which a terminal of a flat flexible wiring member is connected, comprising: a housing into which the terminal of the flexible wiring member is insertable; a plurality of terminals provided in the housing and respectively having conductor contacting portions for contacting conductors at the terminal of the flexible wiring member inserted in the housing; and a slider for restraining the terminal of the flexible wiring member at a position where the conductors are respectively brought into contact with the conductor contacting portions of the terminals as the slider is pushed into the housing in a direction including its inserting-direction component in a state in which the terminal of the flexible wiring member has been inserted in the housing; and a guiding mechanism for guiding the slider such that, in conjunction with the pushing in of the slider, the slider is slid in a first direction which is inclined in a direction of approaching the conductors of the flexible wiring member with respect to the inserting direction of the flexible wiring member, and is subsequently slid in a second direction parallel to the inserting direction of the flexible wiring member.
In the above-described construction, since the sliding direction of the slider includes a first direction which is inclined with respect to the inserting direction of the flexible wiring member, in a state in which the slider is pulled out of the housing, the position of the slider is spaced apart from the inserting position of the flexible wiring member, thereby widening the insertion gap of the flexible wiring member so as to facilitate the insertion. Meanwhile, after the insertion of the flexible wiring member, the slider is made to gradually approach the flexible wiring member by its sliding in the first direction, so that the conductors of the flexible wiring member can be brought into pressure contact with the conductor contacting portions of the terminals by this slider. Moreover, since the arrangement provided is such that the slider slides in the second direction parallel to the inserting direction of the flexible wiring member after its sliding in the first direction, as compared with the conventional arrangement in which the slider slides only in a diagonal direction, the pressure contact between the conductors of the flexible wiring ember and the conductor contacting portions of the terminals an be maintained in a reliable and stable state.
As the guiding mechanism, one is preferable in which a guide portion which is formed by one of a protrusion and a groove and in which a first guide portion extending in the first direction and a second guide portion extending in the second direction continue is provided on one of the housing and the slider, while a restraining portion which, while being fitted to the guide portion, restrains the movement of the guide portion in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the guide portion while permitting the sliding of the guide portion in its longitudinal direction. According to this arrangement, the sliding of the slider along the first direction and the second direction can be realized by a simple structure merely combining the guide portion and the restraining portion.
In the invention, since an arrangement is provided such that the housing is provided with a retaining portion for retaining the slider which slid to an innermost side in the second direction to restrain the backward movement thereof, it becomes possible to more reliably maintain the state of connection between the flexible wiring member and the terminals. Here, in the case of a connector in which the slider slides only in an inclined direction as in a conventional manner, since the force with which the flexible wiring member is brought into pressure contact with the terminals by the slider varies depending on the sliding position of the slider. Therefore, if the position of retaining the slider by the retaining portion varies, the force with which the slider presses the flexible wiring member against the terminals at that retaining position varies. However, with the connector in which the slider is finally adapted to slide in the second direction, i.e., in a direction parallel to the inserting direction of the flexible wiring member, as in the invention, even it there is slight variation in the retaining position, the force with which the flexible wiring member is pressed by the slider does not undergo change. Hence, the state of pressure contact between the flexible wiring member and the terminals can be stabilized further.
Although a specific structure for effecting the above-described retention is not limited, if an arrangement is provided such that the guide portion is provided projectingly on the slider, a portion to be retained is provided integrally with the guide portion, and the housing is provided with a retaining portion for restraining the backward movement of the slider by engaging the portion to be retained of the slider which has slid to an innermost side in the second direction, the retention can be realized with a simple structure by making use of the guide portion projecting from the slider.
Further, if an arrangement is provided such that the housing is provided with a stopper for preventing the slider from coming off the housing in a direction opposite to the pushing-in direction of the slider as the stopper abuts against the guide portion, it is also possible to effect the prevention of the slider from coming off the housing by making use of the guide portion.
The specific inserting direction of the flexible wiring member and the specific sliding direction of the slider can be set, as required. However, if the first direction among the sliding directions of the slider is a diagonally downward direction, and the flexible wiring member is arranged to be inserted into the housing from a lower side of the slider, so as to allow the position of the inserted end of the flexible wiring member to be confirmed from above, it is possible to further facilitate the operation of inserting the terminal of the flexible wiring member.
Further, as described above, the terminal of the flexible wiring member is generally provided with a reinforcing plate for suppressing its deflection, and therefore the flexible wiring member is in such a state that the reinforcing plate projects from the surface of the flexible wiring member by the portion of its thickness.
The invention has been devised by taking note of the above-described structure, and there is provided a connector to which a terminal of a flat flexible wiring member with a reinforcing plate fixed to the terminal is connected, comprising a housing into which the terminal of the flexible wiring member is insertable; a plurality of terminals provided in the housing and respectively having conductor contacting portions for contacting conductors at the terminal of the flexible wiring member inserted in the housing; and a slider for restraining the terminal of the flexible wiring member at a position where the conductors are respectively brought into contact with the conductor contacting portions of the terminals, wherein a restraining portion is provided on the slider for restraining the movement of the flexible wiring member in a direction opposite to an inserting direction of the flexible wiring member as the restraining portion abuts against the reinforcing plate in the inserting direction of the flexible wiring member, and as the slider is pushed into the housing in a state in which the reinforcing plate is located on a further forward side in the inserting direction of the flexible wiring member than the restraining portion, the conductors of the terminal of the flexible wiring member are held at a position for contacting the conductor contacting portions of the terminals.
In accordance with the above-described construction, even if the slider is pushed in even if the flexible wiring member has not been completely inserted into the housing, since the restraining portion provided on the slider pushes from behind the reinforcing plate provided on the terminal of the flexible wiring member from the rear side in the inserting direction, the terminal of the flexible wiring member is finally guided to a proper connecting position (the position where the conductors of the terminal are brought into contact with the conductor contacting portions) at the point of time of completion of the pushing in of the slider. In addition, in the state in which the pushing in has thus been completed, since the restraining portion located on the rear side in the inserting direction of the reinforcing plate restrains the backward movement of the reinforcing plate and, hence, the overall flexible wiring member, even if some tension is applied to the flexible wiring member, it is possible to prevent the offsetting of the terminal of the flexible wiring member from the connecting position.
Further, if an arrangement is provided such that a retaining portion is provided on the housing for retaining the slider pushed in to restrain the backward movement of the slider, and a position of retaining the slider by the retaining portion is set so that as the slider is retained by the retaining portion in a state in which the reinforcing plate is located on a further forward side in the inserting direction of the flexible wiring member than the restraining portion, the conductors of the terminal of the flexible wiring member are held at the position for contacting the conductor contacting portions of the terminals, since the backward movement of the slider itself can be restrained by the retaining portion, the state of connection between the flexible wiring member and the connector-side terminals can be maintained more reliably.
It suffices if the restraining portion is adapted to restrain the movement of the reinforcing plate by abutting against the reinforcing plate from the rear side in the inserting direction of the flexible wiring member. For example, in a case where the flexible wiring member is arranged to be inserted into the housing in a state in which a surface of the flexible wiring member on which the reinforcing plate is provided is oriented to oppose the slider, by providing a simple structure in which, on a surface of the slider for opposing the flexible wiring member, a projecting portion projecting from the surface toward the flexible wiring member is provided as the restraining portion, it is possible to effectively restrain the movement of the flexible wiring member.
Still further, to achieve the foregoing object, according to the invention, there is provided a connector, to which a terminal of a flat wiring member is connected. This connector comprises a housing in which the terminal of the flat wiring member enabled to be inserted, terminals provided in the housing and adapted to touch conductors of the terminal of the flat wiring member, and a slider adapted to extend in a direction of width of the flat wiring member and to restrain conductors of the terminal of the flat wiring member in a position, in which the conductors of the terminal of the flat wiring member touch the terminal, by being pushed into the housing in a direction including a component of a direction in which the flat wiring member is inserted thereinto. In this connector, a to-be-latched portion is provided in a middle portion in the direction of width of the slider. Further, latching portions for restraining the middle portion by engaging with the to-be-latched portion of the slider, which is pushed into the housing, from bending in the direction, in which the slider is pushed into said housing, are provided in the housing.
Incidentally, the xe2x80x9cmiddle portion in the direction of width of the sliderxe2x80x9d referred to herein is not limited to a portion located at the accurately central portion of the slider. Portions other than both end parts of the slider, that is, other than parts, which substantially do not bend, may be employed as the middle portion in the direction of width of the slider.
With the aforementioned configuration, when the to-be-latched portion provided in the middle portion in the direction of width of the slider engages with the latching portions of the housing during the slider is pushed into the housing, the middle portion in the direction of width of the slider is restrained from bending in the direction in which the slider is pushed in the housing. Therefore, the terminal of the flat wiring member, which includes the middle portion in the direction of width of the slider, can be reliably restrained in the normal connection position (that is, the position at which the terminal touches the terminal) across the entire region in the direction of width thereof.
Incidentally, in the case that the latching portions are formed in such a way as to be integral with the housing, the slider can be restrained by a simple configuration without increasing the number of parts from bending.
Practically, it is preferable that the housing and the latching portions are integrally formed with one another by using synthetic resin. Further, projections protruding from a surface of the housing in a direction nearly orthogonal to a direction, in which the slider is pushed into the housing, alternatively, concave portions recessed from the surface of the housing can latch the latching portions. Incidentally, it is necessary that an insertion portion opened in the direction, in which the flat wiring member is inserted, and in the direction, into which the slider is pushed, is formed in the housing. Moreover, it is necessary to draw a forming mold in this direction. Thus, in the case that the concave portions recessed from the surface of the housing are employed as the latching portions. However, in such a case, the mold should be drawn in a direction (that is, a direction in which the concave portions are opened) differing from the direction in which the mold is divided. Consequently, mold equipment becomes complex for that. In contrast, in the case that projections protruding from a surface of the housing in a direction nearly orthogonal to a direction, in which the slider is pushed into the housings are employed as the latching portions, the mold is divided into molding parts in the direction, in which the flat wiring member is inserted, by using the projections as the boundaries. The forming of the latching portions is enabled by drawing out all the molding parts. Thus, necessary mold equipment becomes simple.